LIBRA RY OF CONG RESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMEKIOA. 



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When, and by lorn, was Cincinnati founded? 



A:N' address to the Pioneer Associatii^ of Cin- 
ciiinuti, April 7tli, 1882. By Rufus King. 



For the brief contribution, which I shall offer you 
to-day, I have selected a subject not only without novelty, 
but which, indeed, may long since have become a settled 
point with many of you. Nevertheless, I trust it may be 
deemed appropriate to this interesting occasion, and, possi- 
bly, productive of some practical result. 

When \d by whom was Cincinnati founded, is the 
subject pro|, \ 

This Association, it is understood, recognizes the 28th 
of December, 1788, as the date of the lirst settlement of 
the town : and wh}^ you may ask, is there an^^ further 
question about it ? 

In reply, it is to be said that the Association is not un- 
derstood ever to have formally considered or decided the 
question, even for themselves, but liave accepted this date 
rather in deference to the supposed authority of William 
McMillan, one of the first settlers of the town, and a man 
of intelligence and high standing. On the other hand we 
have Judge Burnet's statement that the landing of the 
first settlers, here, was on the 24th of December, 1788 : and 
Doctor Drake and Governor Chase, highly respectable au- 
thorities, who must be presumed to have informed them- 
selves whereof they spoke, both fixed the date on December 
26th in that year : which day, fifty years ago, was recog- 
nized and publicly celebrated here as the anniversary. — But 
Col. Patterson and Col. Israel Ludlow, the two leaders 
of the party, distinctly stated, as we shall see, that they 
landed here in January 1780. 

Writers, in later years, have taken sides for each and 
all of these dates. The Kev. James II. Perkins, in his 



[2] 

" Western Annals," — a work by all odds more full, more 
accurate, and more generally satisfactory than any other 
one book on the early history of the West — after compar- 
ing these conflicting statements, sums it up as a curious 
fact that the date of the settlement of Cincinnati is un- 
known, even though we have the testimony of the very 
men who made it. — Western Annals, 308. 

But it will not do to give it up. In the grand round 
of Centennials which is passing over the country, Cincin- 
nati also must have her day. It will not be many years 
before our turn will come ; and it becomes our citizens to 
adopt timely measures for ascertaining and establishing 
our city's birthday. 

In such an investigation it is not assuming too much 
to believe that there is no portion of the community who 
may more properly lead the way, or to whom the others 
will more willingly defer the lead, than this Association. 

What I would, therefore, beg leave to propose is that 
this Association shall undertake this office: and that, after 
gathering all the light which their means and opportunities 
can bring to bear upon it, they shall formally announce 
their conclusion, as to the day we should celebrate, for the 
guidance or benefit of our fellow-citizens, when they come 
to determine the proper time. 

To this practical object my remarks to-day will be di- 
rected, and I shall simply present to you a sketch of some 
facts and dates which may serve as a beginning of the in- 
quiry, hoping to show where the difficulty lies in deter- 
mining it: and if it really be insuperable, then to point 
out a solution whicii may, perhaps, answer the purpose in 
view of fixing our Centennial. 

It seems, at this day, a wonder, considering the fertili- 
ty and beauty of the Miami Valley, and the attractions 
which this particular spot presented to the eyes of the har- 
dy pioneers, as they floated past on the gentle current of the 
Ohio, that the settlement here was not made sooner than it 
happened ; and especially that the Marietta Colony, whose 
anniversary we keep to-day, should have given the prefer- 
ence to the hilly and broken region which they chose. 



[3] 

There is a tradition that they consulted Zane, wlio was one 
of tlie foremost and most sagacious of the hmd operators 
North-west of the Ohio, and that he advised them to try 
the Miami countr}'. But, according to the story, they wore 
under a shrewd impression that as liis interests were cl)ieiiy 
on the upper Ohio, he wanted a barrier between himself 
and the Indians, and they conehuled to plant themselves on 
the Muskingum. 

The trutli is that immediately after the cession of the 
North-west Territory to the United States by the treaty of 
jieacewith Great Britain, a tierce and bloody conflict, large- 
ly instigated b}' British emissaries and agents, arose between 
the Indian tribes in that Territory and the settlers of Ken- 
tucky. In tliis war the Miami Valley, and particularly the 
lower part, along the Ohio, became exceedingly dangerous 
ground, and indeed was a sealed book, little known to the 
whites. The constant raids and incursions by the Indians 
across the Ohio, at this point, and the retaliatory expedi- 
tions by which the Kentuckians, under bold leaders like 
George Rogers Clarke, struck back at their savage foe, had 
given to this vicinity the significant appellation of the 
" Miami Slaughter House." 

It might be interesting, but our time will not now admit 
of it, to go back to various early glimpses of these rich and 
luxuriant landscapes, wMiich we get from the narrative of 
Christopher Gist, the expert woodsman, who in March, 1751, 
traveled down the Little Miami, prospecting for choice 
lands for his employers, the Ohio Company, and who 
speaks of the fertile meadows on its banks, where he saw 
herds of buffalo feeding in the white clover, wild rye and 
blue grass; or the grander pageant of three hundred French 
and Indians, under the command of DeCeloron, who were 
sent by the Governor of Canada, in 1749, across Lake Erie 
and Lake Chautauqua and down the waters of the Alleghe- 
ny and the Ohio rivers, to assert the dominion and })()sses- 
sion of this country for the French Government; burying 
at the mouth of the chief tributaries of the Ohio, as they 
passed along, leaden plates inscribed Avitli the purpose of 
their mission, and which turned its ilcot of batteaux's up 



[4] 

the Great Miami (marked on their map as the river 
LaRoche) and in September, 1749 navigated that stream 
up to Loramie, thence crossing the portage to the Maumee 
and returning to Canada ; or what must have been the far 
more imposing display, in 1780, of sixty-three boats carry- 
ing 1,000 men with their laniilies doAvn the Ohio to the falls, 
so graphically described by General Lytle, then a youth, 
and one of the adventurers, and in which an exciting epi- 
sode occurred by an encounter w^ith the Indians on the site 
of Cincinnati. 

These are digressions which must be passed over. But 
finally there came an incident which broke the spell resting 
upon the Miamis, and which I wish I could notice more 
fully, not only for its romance, but being so closely con- 
nected with our subject ; for upon it the foundation of 
Cincinnati followed and depended. 

Observe, that as late as the year 1786, this valley con- 
tinued to be not only untenanted by the emigrant, but 
otherwise than as the great war-path was comparatively 
unknown. 

John Cleves Symmes, of New Jersey, as is well known, 
applied to Congress, at New York, on the 29th of August, 
1787, for the Miami Purchase, encouraged, his petition 
stated, by their action in the previous month in favor of 
the Marietta Colony of Messrs. Sargent, Cutler and Com- 
pany. 

But how or why Judge Symmes became inspired with 
this enterprise is not so generally know^n. And the incident 
to which I allude was the bold exploit of Major Benjamin 
Stites, also a hardy son of New Jersey, so well described 
by your respected President, Daniel Gano, in his address 
at your annual meeting in April, 1871 — an exploit which 
entitles him to be distinguished as the man who opened 
the way to the Miami Purchase. I need only remind you 
that, as a volunteer, merely, he joined a party of Ken- 
tuckians in the pursuit of some Indian horse-thieves across 
the Ohio and up the Little Miami river, but being unsuc- 
cessful they crossed over and returned by way of the Great 
Miami. Delighted w^ith his view of the land. Major Stites 



[5 ] 

returned immediately to Xcw Jersey and made known his 
discovery to Judge Symnies, a leading citizen of that state, 
but not, as is commonly supposed, a member of Congress 
at that time, his term of office having expired in the pre- 
vious year. He saw at once the value and importance of 
the information, but before entering into the project, he 
descended the Ohio river as far as the Falls, stopping and 
carefully examining the northern shore between the Miamis. 
Thoroughly satisfied that Stites had not overdrawn the [lic- 
ture, Judge Symmes, on his return, applied in behalf of 
himself and his associates for the purchase of the entire 
body of land on the Ohio river, between the Great and Lit- 
tle Miami rivers. 

1-ieIying that tins grant would be made, and without 
awaiting the answer, he entered into a contract with Stites 
on the 9th of November, 1787, to sell him ten thousand 
acres on the Ohio and Little Miami rivers; and in January, 
1788, contracted with Matthias Denman, of Essex county, 
New Jersey, to sell him the entire section of land situated 
opposite the mouth of the Licking river, reserving for him- 
self a large tract at the mouth of the Great Miami. Each 
of them had the same object in view in putting themselves 
at the mcuith of these rivers, and three rival towns were at 
once pr(»jected at these points. 

But the Treasury Board, which had charge of sales of 
the public lands, would not grant the entire front on the 
Ohio between the Miamis, their policy being to extend the 
grants more into the interior; and after delaying the con- 
tract until the 15th of May, 1788, they then limited its 
width to twenty miles onl}', on the Ohio, to be measured 
by its meanders, from the mouth of the Great Miami. This 
was a disappointment, which for years made much difficulty 
and loss to Judge Symmes, though the entire distance was 
finally conceded b}' the Government. 

Thus we have the inception and the dates, introducing 
the several schemes which were now coming forward to bid 
for the favor of posterity ; and during the summer of 1788, 
Symmes and Stites and J)ennuin wore all bn<y with organ- 
izing and preparations for the start. 



[6] 

Symmes having been appointed one of the judges in 
the Territorial Government established b}^ Congress, was de- 
layed, but iStites and Denman were at Limestone, now known 
as Maysville, in August; the former, with his strong party 
of friends and followers,vigorously making everything ready 
for building and equipping his settlement immediately on 
reaching the ground. Thus he was foremost, and on the 
18th of November, 1788, despite the alarm of Indian oppo- 
sition, which had been raised against him, he landed them 
safely at Columbia, and in a few days had them housed for 
the winter and fortified against the enemy. 

Judge Symmes, with his large party, had reached Lime- 
stone early in September. Deuman, with whom our fortunes 
were now to be more particularly involved, had brought 
no party with him, but by skillful generalship he executed 
a flank movement, which brought him new elements of 
strength, and, no doubt, much of his subsequent success. 

Passing over to Lexington, Kentucky, he there united 
himself in partnership with two citizens of that place : 
Colonel Robert Patterson, a native of Bedford county, Penn- 
sylvania, who about the year 1780 founded the City of Lex- 
ington, a gentleman of high character, standing, and in- 
fluence among the people of Kentucky, and distinguished 
as a gallant soldier; and John Filson, a native of Chester 
count3^ Pennsylvania, who had begun life as a schoolmaster, 
but had early emigrated to Kentucky. Besides being a 
surveyor and considerable dealer in lands, he was the author 
of the flrst history of the adventures of Daniel Boone and 
of the settlement of Kentucky, published in 1784. A for- 
mal contract by these three associates, headed " with refer- 
ence to Losantiville," was executed at Lexington, on the 
25th of August, 1788, by which Denman, in consideration 
of twenty pounds, Virginia currency, to be paid to him by 
Patterson and Filson, sold to tliem two-thirds of his pur- 
chase under Symmes; and it was solemnly stipulated -that 
" every institution, determination, and regulation respect- 
ing the laying-oft* a town, and establishing a ferry upon the 
premises, should be the result and united advice and concert 
of the parties." 



Tlius wjis Cincinnati inctii)atc(l, and it was liy the name 
and stylo of Losantivillo, There is no donbt of this fact, 
tlu)nij^h stoutly disputed by some of our distinguished an- 
tiquarians. The paper proves it. 

Next appeared an advertisement in the Kentucky Ga- 
zette, at Lexington, August 30th, 1788, signed by the three 
proprietors, announcing tliat they have " determined to hiy 
off a town " opposite the mouth of Licking river, and tliat 
an inlot of half an acre and an outlot of four acres will be 
given to each of the first thirty settlers who become resi- 
dents before the 1st day of April following. They also 
announce that on September 15th a large company was to 
assemble at Lexington, and proceed to mark out a road to 
the mouth of Licking, provided Judge Symmes arrived, he 
being expected daily. 

By a subsequent advertisement in the Kentucky Ga- 
zette, September 13th, Col. Patterson announced, that the 
day of departure was changed to the 18th, so as to meet 
Judge Symmes at the mouth of Licking, on Monday, the 
22d, "agreeable to his appointment, and the business will 
then go on as proposed." Please observe the words for 
they were exactl}' followed up and fulfilled. 

Col. Patterson and Filson rode over at the head of an 
armed company of Kentuckians. Judge Symmes, Deninan 
and Israel Ludlow, with their company, came down the 
Ohio river from Limestone. 

On Monday, the 22d day of September, in the year 
1788, these difterent interests assembled on the ground so 
designated, pursuant to the covenant and determination so 
drawn up and signed, and the i)ublic announcement and 
invitation so advertised. 

Tiien and there, I submit, was the foundation of Cin- 
cinnati ; solemnized by this demonstration, never relin- 
quished, but executed and carried out, even in the name of 
the town, as we shall find, in conformity with the original 
design concluded at Lexington, on the 2oth of August. 

Here, on his part, that day stood Synmies, recognized 
as the representative of the Government title, ready to 
make the project good: and there with him was Israel 



[8] 

Ludlow, his head surveyor and adviser in the laying out of 
the Miami Purchase. There, on the other part, were Den- 
man, Patterson and Filson, the recognized proprietors by 
purchase from Symmes, of the town site : Filson holding the 
projected plat in his hand. And there, also, were the ex- 
pectants of the half acre in-lots and four acre out-lots prom- 
ised to the brave thirty who, before the 1st day of April fol- 
owing were to venture in as residents; saying nothing of 
the other attendants who on such occasions always take an 
interest on behalf of the public. Surely this was worthy 
enough to be dignified as the foundation of the town. 

But before the actual settlement could be formed two 
things had to be ascertained : first, where was the twenty 
mile point above the mouth of the Great Miami; second, and 
still more important, where were the lines of the section up- 
on which the town plat was to be laid ofli'. In other words, 
while it was pretty well understood that Losantiville fell 
within the twenty mile limit, no lots could be donated or 
settled upon until they were located upon the ground. 

Part of the assembly, therefore, remained in camp. It 
would seem there was already a block-house on the spot, 
erected by some previous party campaigning against the 
Indians. Another party under Messrs. Denman and Lud- 
low proceeded to measure the courses and meanders of the 
Ohio and about ten miles up the Great Miami. Another 
and larger party of armed men, under Judge Symmes, Col. 
Patterson and Filson, went back into the country to exam- 
ine the interior and its topography. A number of the Ken- 
tuckians, in this party, for some reason not explained, pos- 
sibly that which is referred to by Mr. Perkins, in his An- 
nals, jyp. 807, 308, and by Judge Sy mmes in his report 
May 18th, 1789, hereinafter mentioned, turned back on the 
second or third day. Whether Filson was with them does 
not appear, though Judge Symmes intimates not, but in 
some way he became separated. When all the various par- 
ties, after a few days, reassembled at the camp opposite the 
Licking, Filson was missing; and though reported and 
always since understood to have been killed by an Indian, 
I can not discover that any one saw it, or that his body 



in 

was found ; and to tliis day tlie actual I'ato of the unfortun- 
ate man is a mystery. 

But it is a mistake to suppose that Filson's loss broke 
off or defeated the [>roject. It became necessary, of course, 
to suspend the settlement until his right. and interest in the 
purchase could be disposed of and a surveyor put in his 
place, and, fortunately, the right man was at hand. Whetlier 
if Filson had not perished, it was intended, or even possible 
to have eftected the laying oft" and settlement of the town, 
at that time, seems questionable. The surveys and compu- 
tations necessary for adjusting the townships and sections, 
and thus locating the lines of the town section and plat, 
with its streets and squares and lots, could hardly have 
been completed at once : and even had this been practica- 
ble, it is evident, from the extended time given for settlers 
to come in and secure the donations of lots, that a settle- 
ment was not expected to follow immediately. 

The meeting adjourned, but "the business" was not 
abandoned. Messrs. Denman and Patterson went to Lime- 
stone, where they were soon after joined by Messrs. Symmes 
and Ludlow. Negotiations took place by which the brother 
of Filson, who was the executor of his will, surrendered 
his right, and Israel Ludlow became the purchaser, and by 
agrcoment of all parties took Filson's place as one of the 
three proprietors of the town. All legal arrangements hav- 
ing been satisfactorily adjusted for going on to complete 
and lay oft" the town according to the original agreement, 
and, in fact, very nearly in accordance with Filson's origi- 
nal plat, Mr. Denman returned to New Jersey, leaving full 
power and authority to his two associates to act, Mr. Lud- 
low being his special agent, in perfecting the project with 
the public as first proposed. 

During the months of October and November Mr. 
Ludlow, who now was to be the active man in the Losan- 
tiville scheme, revised Filson's plat, introducing some 
changes, but, what was more material, he had ascertained 
the precise location of the section (and fractional section 
intervening between it and the river) which the proprietors 
of the town were entitled to have under the purchase from 



[10] 

Judge Symmes; and by which the east line of the section 
and of the town plat became fixed where the intersection 
of Broadway and Front street now is ; Broadway on .the 
plat being sixteen feet wide and called Eastern liow, as the 
oldest inhabitants will remember. 

Thus far facts and dates, notwithstanding some dis- 
crepancies here and there in the authorities, are quite clear. 
But at this juncture the history of the " Settlement " runs 
into a fog of contradictions which, as Mr. Perkins tells us, 
is all but impenetrable; and we shall therefore have to 
move with great caution among the snags which surround 
us in our exploration. 

We have the authority of Judge Symmes, in a long 
letter or report to his associates in 'New Jersey, written at 
JS'orth Bend, May 18th, 1789, that " on the 24th of Decem- 
ber last," using his words, " Col. Patterson, of Lexington, 
who is concerned with Mr. Denman in the section at the 
mouth of the Licking river, sailed from Limestone in com- 
pany with Mr. Tuttle, Capt. Henry, Mr. Ludlow and about 
twelve others, in order to form a station and lay out a town 
opposite Licking." 

If this were all there would be little difficulty in as- 
suming that this party may have reached their destination 
by the 28th, as Mr. McMillan is supposed to have stated. — 
But Judge Symmes proceeds to say, — " they suffered much 
from the inclemency of the weather and floating ice, which 
filled the Ohio from shore to shore. Perseverance, how- 
ever, triumphed over difficulty : they landed safe on a most 
delightful high bank of the Ohio, where they founded the 
town of Losantiville, — which populates considerably." 

But when? unhappily the Judge omits the present 
desideratum : not disclosing when it was that this party 
landed safe from this perilous and evidently protracted pas- 
sage. The compliment which he pays to that " delightful 
high bank" will be appreciated from the fact that in the 
meanwhile the great flood of the Ohio, in January, 1789, 
had submerged his metropolis at the mouth of the Great 
Miami, and also Major Stites' embryo city at Columbia, 
whilst Losantiville had proudly stood high and dry, and 



C" J 

tlicreby gained a prestige, which justly entitled it, as Judge 
Synimes quaintly said, to " populate considerably," and 
tended most materially to secure its triumph over its rivals. 

Here we miss the pen of the unfortunate Filson, who 
being a ready writer, and fond occasionally of his diary, 
would never have missed the opportunit}' for a note su(rh 
as this occasion afforded. 

So far as yet made known, the only direct information 
which we have as to the time of the arrival of tliis i)arty, 
is the testimony taken in a chancery suit, which arose some 
fifteen years afterward between the tOAvn and Mr. Joel 
Williams, concerning " the common," or what is now called 
the Public Landing. 

The town plat was not recorded until April, 1802. 
Mr. Williams, who had purchased the rights of Denman 
and Patterson, proposed to divide the Common into lots 
and sell them : and with that view took possession and pro- 
ceeded to erect buildings and fences upon a part of it. 
Mr. Ludlow resisted this and put upon record his plat, 
founded upon Filson's plat, showing that from the very be- 
ginning the Common had been left open and public as to all 
the space from Front street down to the Ohio river between 
Broadway and Main street. 

The suit for an injunction against Mr. Williams was 
brought by Judge Burnet, in the name of the town. To 
establish the fact that the Common had been dedicated by 
the proprietors to public use, the depositions of all three of 
them, and of six others of the earlier settlers, were taken 
by Judge Burnet himself, as stated by him in a subsequent 
document. 

William McMillan was the lirst who testified, and his 
statement was tliat " he was one of those who formed the 
settlement of ('incinnati on the 28th day of December, 
1788." 

The testimony of Israel Ludlow was taken subsequent- 
ly. After stating his purchase of one-third of the town 
site, he said that " in the month of January, 1780, this de- 
ponent together with Rol)ert Patterson, Es(i., who was also 
a [u\)[»rictor, etc., hunlcd ui\ said ground with a nunilx-i- ot 



[12] 

others to lay out the town of Cincinnati and form a settle- 
ment thereon." On the same day Col. Patterson made his 
deposition, agreeing almost literally with Mr. Ludlow in 
the passage above quoted, his words being that " in the 
month of January, 1789, he, together with Israel Ludlow, 
who was also a proprietor of one-third, and agent of Mat- 
thias Denman, landed on the ground for the purpose of 
laying off the town of Cincinnati." Matthias Denman, in 
his deposition, stated that the town was laid out in 1789, 
but this is vague and merely hearsay, as he had returned to 
New Jersey. Ephraim Kibby, Avho was one of the party, 
testified that " sometime in the year 1789 Israel Ludlow 
and Robert Patterson, with many others, met at wliat is 
now called Cincinnati, for the purpose of settling the said 
town," and he adds, " then called Losantiville. " 

Without presuming to express an opinion as to the 
time when these first settlers did arrive and land here, yet 
upon these statements, if compared by the rules usually ap- 
plied in weighing testimony, the 28th of December can not 
be confidently or even satisfactorily adopted as the anni- 
versary of that event. It may be that Mr. McMillan's date 
is right, but, as the matter now stands, his statement can 
not outweigh the joint testimony of Messrs. Patterson and 
Ludlow. For whilst they state clearly and unequivocally 
that they "landed on the ground in January, 1789," Mr. 
McMillan's expression that he was one of those " who 
formed the settlement on the 28th of December, 1788," is 
somewhat ambiguous, and may or may not have referred 
to the arrival and landing. 

Mr. Cist bad no doubt that Mr. McMillan has given us 
the proper date, for the reason that he was an intelligent 
lawyer and magistrate, and a man of scrupulously exact 
habits of business, l^o doubt this was so, but as to intelli- 
gence and accuracy he had no advantage over either Pat- 
terson or Ludlow. Mr. Cist further remarks that Judge 
Burnet had assured him that he never entertained a doubt 
that this was the correct date ; but evidently there was 
some misunderstanding here, for the Judge, in his " jSTotes 
on the Early Settlement of the North-western Territory," 



[ l:2 ] 

p. 46, distinctly states that this party " landed on the north 
bank of the Ohio, opposite the mouth of Licking, on the 
24th of December, 1788." Tiiis upsets all the depositions. 

Having thus landed you, my venerable friends, upon 
this very high, though not delightful bank, I will not dis- 
tress you further with the fatiguing dispute, but, in con- 
clusion, will venture to offer the following suggestions for 
your consideration, or for action, if any appear to you to 
be pro[)er in the matter : 

First. That the City of Cincinnati should justly and 
gratefully recognize Matthias Denman, Robert Patterson, 
John Filson, and Israel Ludlow, as its founders. 

Second. That the foundation of the town, proclaimed 
and inaugurated by the formal meeting held here for that 
purpose, on the 22d day of September, 1788, and never for 
a moment relinquished, renders that anniversary appro- 
priate for celebration as the original institution of the city. 

Third. If, however, the settlement of the town, instead 
of its foundation, be preferred as more worthy of celebra- 
tion, that the Association take measures for obtaining fur- 
ther evidence on the subject, by causing a thor.ough search 
for letters or other documents of the first settlers, among 
their families or others who may have possession or knowl- 
edge of an}' such evidence, and that a committee of the 
Association be appointed for that purpose. 

Upon the question of adopting the settlement of the 
town, rather than its first formal foundation, as most worthy 
of conimemoration, permit me to add a few words. 

The mere landing of this party from Limestone, whether 
it occurred in December, 1788, or January, 1789, has but little 
significance or relevancy to the main consideration. In 
other words, their arrival and landing was merely incidental 
to the previously settled plan, and, moreover, by no means 
made a "settlement." This is best proved by showing 
what Cincinnati really was a month afterwards, as described 
in an interesting little sketch by Mrs. Rebecca Rt-eder, ad- 
dressed by her to this Association many years ago, and troni 
which I take this extract: 



[14] 

" My father, mother, and seven children landed at Cincinnati, 
then called Lasantiville, on the 8th of February, 1789. The first per- 
sons we saw after landing were Mr. McMillan and Mr. Israel Ludlow, 
one of the proprietors of the place. These two gentlemen were the 
surveyors of the Miami Purchase. There were three little cabins here 
when we landed, where the surveyors and chain-carriers lived. They 
had no floors in their cabins. There were three other women here be- 
side my mother. Their names were Miss Dement, Mrs. Conney Zenes 
(afterwards married to Mr. McMillan), Mrs. Pesthal, a German woman, 
and my mother, Mrs. Rebecca Reeder. There were but two families 
that had small children: they were the German family and my father's 
family. 

" Mr. Ludlow came down to our boat and invited my father and 
family up to stay in their cabin until we could get one built; but my 
mother thought they could remain more comfortable with their small 
children in their boat. So we lived in our boat until the ice began to 
run, and then we were forced to contrive some other way to live. What 
few men there were here got together and knocked our boats up and 
built us a camp. We lived in our camp six weeks. Then my father built 
us a lai'ge cabin, which was the first cabin large enough for a family to 
live in. We took the boards of our camp and made floors in our 
house. Father intended to have built it on the corner of Walnut and 
Water streets, but not knowing exactly where the streets were, he built 
our house right in the middle of Water street. The streets were laid 
out, but the woods were so very thick, and the streets were not opened, 
so it was impossible to tell where the streets would be. 

" At the time we landed here the army was stationed at North 
Bend. The army was in a suffering condition from the want of bread. 
* * The first summer after we came here, which was 1789, the people 
suffered very much for want of bread, and as for meat, they had none 
at all, only just as they killed it in the woods; that was all they had 
to eat 

" I will close by saying my name, which was Rebecca Kennedy, 
dauo'hter of Francis Kennedy, now is Rebecca Reeder, widow of Reuben 
Reeder." 

The following extract is from a letter by Thomas Ir- 
win, of Butler county, published in Cist's "Miscellany," 
Vol. li., p. 22 : 

" When I was about seventeen years of age, James Burnes and I, 
from Washington county, Pennsylvania, landed at Cincinnati between 
ihe 1st and 10th of April, 1789, and remained there until the second 
week in June. * * There were but four families there when we 
landed : Mr. McHenry and his family, a large family, two sons and 
two daughters, all grown ; Mr. Kennedy and a small (young) family ; 



[15] 

Mr. Dement and a small family; Mr. Ross and a small family. Mr. 
McMillan, John Vance, David Logan, Mr. Reeves, Hardesty, Van Eaton, 
and McConnell, all lived in one shanty, being, perhaps, the first that 
was put up in the place, as nearly all of them had been out with the 
surveyors surveying Symmes' Purcliase, and were there when the town 
was laid out, and all had lots in it." 

These reports indicate that in the first half of the year 
1789, there Avas very little settlement liere to boast of; and 
if in celebrating the lirst settlement we would pay honor 
to the fact rather than an ideality, I think it will be found, 
upon investigation, that it amounted to little or nothing 
until the occupation of this point as a military post by 
Major Doughty, with two companies of United States troops 
under Captains Strong and Ferguson. This event usually 
figures in the annals as having occurred in June, 1789, but 
it was certainly later. By an extract from the diary of 
Major Denny, then an officer at Fort Harmar (Marietta), it 
appears that Major Doughty left that post on the 11th of 
August, 1789, "for the purpose of choosing ground and 
laying out a new work for the protection of persons who 
have settled in Judge Symmes' purchase." General Har- 
mar, in a letter to the Secretary of War, September 12, 
1789, reports : 

"Major Doughty informs me in his letter dated the 27th ultimo, 
tliat he arrived at the Little Miami on the IGth, and alter reconnoiter- 
ing for three days from thence to the Big Miami for an eligible situa- 
tion, whereon to erect the works for headquarters, he had at length de- 
termined to fix upon a spot opposite Licking river, which he represents 
as high and healthy, abounding with never-failing springs, etc., and 
the most proper position he could find for the purpose." 

This settled the town and its future. The ground 
chosen was the tract of fifteen acres adjoining the town, at 
the East End, and extending from Fourth street down to 
the Ohio river. Here Fort Washington was erected in the 
autumn of 1789. General Harmar, with three hundred ad- 
ditional troops, arrived and occupied it on the 29th of De- 
cember. 

On the 2d of January, 1790, General St. Clair, Gover- 



[16] 

nor of the Territory, with the judges, arrived here on an 
official visitation, which lasted only three days. During 
this visit, and by his authority and order, as appears from 
a letter written in the following week by Symmes, he being, 
as already mentioned, one of the judges, the County of 
Hamilton was established, and the county-seat fixed at this 
town, to which the Governor then gave the name of 
Cincinnati. 



APPENDIX. 

A Committee of the Pioneer Association has been appointed to obtain 
further information as to the date of the settlement of Cincinnati. They 
respectfully request the co-operation of all persons who may have it in their 
power to contribute or point out any means of information. 

The list of the first settlers of the town, which was published in the 
Directory of 1819, contains the following names, besides those of Messrs. 
Patterson and Ludlow. 

NOAH BADGELY, . WILLIAM McMILLAN, 

SAMUEL BLACKBURN, SAMUEL MUONEY, 

THADDEUS BRUEN, JOHN PORTER, 

ROBERT CALDWELL, EVAN SHELBY, 

JAMES CARPENTER, DANIEL SHOEMAKER, 

WILLIAM CONNELL, JOSEPH THORNTON, 

MATTHIAS FOWLER, SCOTT TRAVERS, 

THOMAS GIZZELL, JOHN VANCE, 

FRANCIS HARDESTY, SYLVESTER WHITE, 

EPHRAIM KIBBY, JOEL WILLIAMS, 
HENRY LINDSEY. 

Cist's "Cincinnati in 1859" adds the names of Matthias Campbell, 
Henry, Luther Kitchell, Elijah Martin, and Isaac Tuttle. 

The families of the persons above named, or persons acquainted with 
any of them, will confer a favor by communicating to John D. Caldwell, 
Esq., Secretary of the Pioneer Association, Cincinnati, concerning any 
letters, documents, or other means for determining the time when the party 
from Limestone, under Messrs. Patterson and Ludlow, arrived at Cincinnati. 

Families of the first settlers at Columbia, or their acquaintances, may 
also have means for answering the same inquiry. 



X 



